The 23rd annual Heartland Film Festival breaks all-time film submissions record, is set to bestow $115,000 in cash prizes and will feature 131 independent films over 10 days across Indianapolis

The Heartland Film Festival—Indiana’s largest and longest-running independent film festival—will showcase more than 130 independent films and gives audiences access to more than 100 independent filmmakers from around the world from Oct. 16-25, 2014. With red carpet premieres and events, parties, and hundreds of film screenings, the Heartland Film Festival offers the best of world cinema right in the heart of the Midwest.

“The films in this year’s Heartland Film Festival represent myriad cultural experiences throughout the United States and in over 40 countries around the world,’ said Tim Irwin, Heartland Film’s artistic director. ‘Some of the films might inspire viewers (‘We Are the Giant,’ ‘East Side Sushi,’ ‘Dukale’s Dream’); some will challenge and change audiences’ perspectives on the world both at home and overseas (‘Drunktown’s Finest,’ ‘Cicada,’ ‘Siddharth,’ ‘Marmato’). Others will warm the heart (‘Finding Harmony,’ ‘Mistaken for Strangers,’ ‘Una Vida: A Fable of Music and the Mind’), while some will bring smiles to faces or provoke outright laughter (‘The Referee,’ ‘Ben’s at Home,’ ‘Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey’).”

The complete Heartland Film Festival lineup and schedule can be viewed here.

Special Kickoff Screening Event & Party – “The Judge” with Director David Dobkin

From Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures comes “The Judge,” which pairs two-time Oscar® nominee Robert Downey Jr. (“Chaplin,” “Tropic Thunder”) and Oscar® winner Robert Duvall (“Tender Mercies”), starring together for the first time on the big screen. The film also stars Oscar® nominee Vera Farmiga (“Up in the Air”) and Oscar® winner Billy Bob Thornton (“Sling Blade”), and is directed by David Dobkin (“Wedding Crashers”).

In “The Judge,” Downey stars as big city defense attorney Hank Palmer, who returns to his childhood home where his estranged father, the town’s judge (Duvall), is suspected of murder. He sets out to discover the truth and along the way reconnects with the family he walked away from years before.

The 2014 Heartland Film Festival will open with director Jason Reitman’s new film, “Men, Women & Children.” The film follows the story of a group of high school teenagers and their parents as they attempt to navigate the many ways the internet has changed their relationships, their communication, their self-image and their love lives. The film wrestles with social issues such as video game culture, anorexia, infidelity, fame hunting and the proliferation of illicit material on the internet. As each character and each relationship is tested, we are shown the variety of roads people choose – some tragic, some hopeful – as it becomes clear that no one is immune to the enormous social change that has come through our phones, our tablets and our computers. The film’s ensemble cast includes Judy Greer, Adam Sandler, Jennifer Garner, Rosemarie DeWitt, Ansel Elgort, J.K. Simmons, and Emma Thompson. Based on the novel by Chad Kultgen

An in-depth discussion of the many issues presented by the film with follow the screening. A panel of experts and filmmakers will discuss the effects that today’s online culture, including sexting, online pornography, body image issues and online gaming, can have on personal relationships.

Festival Award Winners in Contention for Grand Prizes

More than $115,000 will be awarded to independent filmmakers at the Heartland Film Festival Awards Ceremony, on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014. On this evening, Heartland Film will recognize the best independent filmmakers from all over the world and bestow the Festival’s top prizes:

*The Heartland Film Festival has earned the special designation of being a qualifying festival for the Annual Academy Awards® within the Short Films category. This means that the winner of the Grand Prize for Best Narrative Short Film will qualify for consideration in the Short Films category of the Annual Academy Awards® without the standard theatrical run, provided the film otherwise complies with the Academy rules.

Premiere Titles

Among its Official Selection titles, these select films will launch their festival run at the 2014 Heartland Film Festival:

Arne Ahrens, director of “My Circumcision” (Official Selection, Narrative Short Film – “Shorts Program 7: It’s Tough to Be a Kid”) is a Ball State University graduate.

Sean Mullin, director of “Amira & Sam” (Official Selection, Narrative Feature) was born in Indianapolis and grew up in Zionsville, Ind.

Jace Freeman, director of “The Ballad of Shovels and Rope” (Official Selection, Documentary Feature) grew up in Indianapolis and lives in Nashville, TN – this will be Jace’s third film programmed at the Heartland Film Festival.

James Portolese, producer of “All-Stars” (Official Selection, Narrative Feature) is from South Bend and graduated from Indiana University, Bloomington.

View the complete 2014 Heartland Film Festival lineup with schedule of films and events.